From Whence Comes My Strength

Lord, I been down 
And lookin’ up I sees.. 
Trees tall trees

Striving for the light 
Are we all...
Are we not?

That distant glow 
waiting ...so.

Is mine
Is coming

Patience and inching forward 
On knees
On bleeding knuckles

When hope is thin 
When I give in
To tears

I see the light in trees 
Tall trees

And onward step 
And upward hoist.

Hi ho 

Photo by Amanda.  Words by Stephanie.  

A little less than everything is a lot more than nothing.

You can scratch an egg until it cracks or leave it to hatch golden like morning waves.
You can baby skin smooth an argument with flowers and wine.
You can watch television commercials.

All are okay.

Words by Dustin Whitehead.  Photo by Stephanie Hawks Peters.

if mountain sky were a calculator

if mountain sky were a calculator there would be no solutions because everything would be sweet and soft and perfect so we would stop trying to build a future of quick downloads for a clock tick to upload our hearts into the equation

let's turn off the television tonight

i used to watch cheers and family matters every night all summer long exhausted from a day of playing army outside with my siblings sheltered by the florida sun and sky and moms lemonade we sold by the glass to construction workers who often smiled

apple trees are real

we had this large basement in milwaukee's third two bedroom bachelor pad where my father and my brother built pine wood derby cars as i played on the floor happy to be in the room before wearing the cold weather plastics that would take us to the park to run with the sky

Photos by Sadie Myers, Stephanie Peters, & Allan Whitehead. Words by Dustin Whitehead.

Dandy Irony

When I was a child I wished on a bit of fluff and blew.

At fifty I married the man I'd taken so long to find and appreciate.

He tells me dandelions are dangerous weeds.

I obediently pull them and leave them choking between our rows of strawberries.

I have no more need for them

Photo by Sadie Myers.  Words by Stephanie Peters.

Two Poems For Your Wedding

Weave your lives into one

One colorful rich fabric

Woven tightly, close and strong.

Stitch your hearts to one another

With strong threads of conversation and love

That none may rip asunder.

Mend the holes. Patch the rough spots.

And wear your love

In peace and comfort

For all your days

Her hands snipped threads

Her needle soared

Seaming together

The smooth soft silk.

Piece by piece

A form evolved

As piece by piece

Their lives were joined.

A form to match the contours of her body

A life melded to hers

Enfolding her in comfort:

His arms and white silk

Photo by Sadie Myers.  Words by Stephanie Peters.

Easter

Wrinkled hands with bit back nails

blend vinegar and color

Wax resists

And he insists

that children have forgotten.

And colors swirl

As memories whirl

she curls her mind around them.

Brilliant spheres

For no one here

For no one hears her humming.

Songs of praise

Someday, she prays

Smooth small palms will join hers.

In waving palms

In singing psalms

In celebrations ever

Halleluiah!

Words by Stephanie Peters. Photo response by Sadie Myers.

coffee sugar beer whiskey

coffee sugar beer whiskey 

celebrate a holiday with me at least for a tic tac I love you on the wall like a photo like a promise like a familiar snow like a river like a son loves a mother was always wanting to paint flowers for the wedding or for them and their loved and the love that will go on when words can not when the sentences fail and the languages become one less than none and more than fun and more than beautiful and that for there was a word and it was posterity and we will find our children the same way as they thank us for having them stand up next to the lyrics on our spirits that are meant to be amazing subtly representing what can only be outstanding understanding what they believe was 

always 

coffee sugar beer whiskey 

Photo by Stephanie Peters.  Words by Dustin Whitehead.

Bedroom

Is there a room maybe

With space for a smile

Will the quilts stay soft

After and over awhile

Could the music still play

Will joy in grace yet continue

If it happened on tomorrow

What would be the venue

Well...

There's white tile past the door

Blinds with God shining through

Like the love deep inside us

Lit by the tiniest sleeping hue

Photo by Stephanie Peters.  Words by Dustin Whitehead.